Expert thought

In view of the restrictive 2018 Luhansk People’s Republic statute, it is not surprising that some groups declined to apply for registration, while others were refused. The result is that many religious communities find themselves outside the law…. the 48 Baptist Union congregations have had to cease their activity altogether.

Religious Studies

In the context of recent events in the Orthodox world, disputes over the boundaries of church institutions often arise between the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Kyiv and Moscow. Ukraine accuses Russia of misappropriating the territory of the Kyiv Metropolis. In its turn, Moscow appeals to the fact that the ancient Kyiv Metropolis differs from the territory of modern Ukraine. RISU decided to clarify this topic, getting advice from historians. Based on this research, we prepared an infographic.

The first question that arises concerning Ukraine is this: with what right and based on which holy canons, does Russia today claim the ecclesiastical and administrative dependency of the Metropolis of Kyiv?

Greek Catholics in Transcarpathia lost a third of donations from faithful

Charitable donations from the faithful of Greek Catholic Church in Transcarpathia decreased threefold. This was stated by Bishop Milan Shashik during a press conference in Uzhgorod, as he spoke about financial capability of the diocese to restore the wall that crashed in front of the cathedral.

“I am very sorry to say this, but really all donations of our diocese last year fell one third. That is, all priests who had UAH 600 per week for their living, now have 200. This means that the church, like all our people, is now in a very difficult situation,” the bishop said.

“Unfortunately, there is a situation that we are just surviving. On the other hand I am very glad that not we are not rich because we suffer together with our people. So now I cannot say I am going to restore the wall, which went down, because I have no money,” said Bishop Milan.